Media on Edge

Behind the Headlines

The New York Times had a stunning headline. Foreign applications to U.S. colleges have fallen by 40%. Except it’s not true. Here’s what’s happening behind the headlines.

The New York Times claims Donald Trump’s immigration ban has damaged U.S. colleges when it comes to foreign students. It called this the ‘Trump Effect.’

The newspaper relied on this report. So, we read the report, the accompanying press release and the survey results. The truth is far different than what the Times writes.

Nearly 300 colleges and universities were surveyed. When it comes to foreign student applications: 38% reported a decline; 35% reported an increase; and 27% reported no change. In other words — a wash. The difference between this year and last year is statistically insignificant.

Some might call this journalistic fraud. Others, fake news. In either case, it’s completely dishonest. By the way, the Times reports there were more than one million foreign students last year. Because every school has enrollment limits this means one million Americans didn’t get into college. Hundreds of thousands of families have sons and daughters turned down from attending their own state universities even though their taxes subsidized those schools.